Energy saving electric soap dispenser

ABSTRACT

An electric soap dispenser is provided with a housing; a cover; a reservoir; a valve; a nozzle; an electric motor; a gear system; an arm having one end rotatably disposed in the gear system; a link having one end pivotably secured to an other end of the arm and loosely put on the nozzle; an electric control unit; a sensor; and a power source. The electric control unit actuates the electric motor upon receiving a signal from the sensor, the actuated electric motor rotates the gear system, one end of the arm rotates 180-degree to move the link upward to open the valve thereby flowing liquid soap from the reservoir to the nozzle, and one end of the arm rotates further 180-degree to move the link downward to close the valve thereby stopping the flowing and deactivating the electric motor. Power demand is greatly reduced when in use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The invention relates to soap dispensers and more particularly to a battery-powered electric soap dispenser capable of greatly reducing the power demand when in use.

2. Description of Related Art

Conventionally, a soap dispenser is mounted on the wall of a bathroom or a shower room adjacent to a sink. There are electric soap dispensers powered by a plurality of batteries commercially available. However, soap reservoir, valve, and nozzle of the conventional electric soap dispenser are not optimally devised in term of force applications and energy saving. Thus, only a limited times of use can be made due to limited power from the batteries. Further, a large compartment for receiving more batteries is not possible due to crowded interior of the electric soap dispenser. Thus, a frequent replacement of the depleted batteries is required for maintaining a normal operation of the electric soap dispenser. This is very inconvenient and is not economical.

Thus, the need for improvement still exists.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is therefore one object of the invention to provide an electric soap dispenser comprising a housing; a cover releasably secured to the housing; a reservoir configured to store liquid soap; a valve communicating with the reservoir; a nozzle communicating with the valve; an electric motor; a gear system; an arm having one end rotatably disposed in the gear system; a link having one end pivotably secured to an other end of the arm and loosely put on the nozzle; an electric control unit for controlling actuation of the electric motor; a trigger sensor for detecting the presence of an object and generating a trigger signal; and a power source electrically connected to both the electric control unit and the electric motor; wherein the electric control unit actuates the electric motor upon receiving the trigger signal from the trigger sensor, the actuated electric motor rotates the gear system, one end of the arm rotates 180-degree to move the link upward to open the valve thereby flowing a predetermined amount of liquid soap from the reservoir to the nozzle via the valve, and one end of the arm rotates further 180-degree to move the link downward to close the valve thereby stopping the flowing and causing the electric control unit to deactivate the electric motor.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an energy saving electric soap dispenser according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the energy saving electric soap dispenser;

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the discharge mechanism;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the electric soap dispenser with the cover and the reservoir removed;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the assembled valve, the link, the arm, the gear system and the electric motor;

FIG. 7 is a front view in part section of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing an upward movement of the link to open the valve for dispensing liquid soap; and

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 7 showing a downward movement of the link to close the valve for stopping the dispensing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 9, an energy saving electric soap dispenser 1 in accordance with the invention comprises a cover 2, a discharge mechanism, an activation mechanism, and a housing 5 as discussed in detail below.

The activation mechanism is disposed on the housing 5. The cover 2 is releasably secured to the housing 5 by snapping. The discharge mechanism includes a reservoir 31 configured to store liquid soap, a valve 32 disposed under the reservoir 31 and communicating with the reservoir 31, and a nozzle 33 at a bottom of the valve 32 and communicating with the valve 32.

The activation mechanism includes a power source (e.g., a plurality of batteries) 41 disposed in a compartment, a circuit board (i.e., electric control unit) 42, an electric motor 43, a gear system 44, a mounting member 45, and a support 46 having a recess 461. The circuit board 42 includes a trigger sensor 421. The gear system 44 includes an arm 441 having one end rotatably disposed therein, and a link 442 having one end pivotably secured to the other end of the arm 441 and loosely put on the nozzle 33. The power source 41, the circuit board 42, the electric motor 43, and the gear system 44 are mounted on the support 45. The power source 41, the circuit board 42, and the electric motor 43 are electrically interconnected. The valve 32 is anchored in the recess 451.

Operations of the electric soap dispenser 1 are described below. The trigger sensor 421 generates a trigger signal when the hand of a user approaches the nozzle 33. The trigger signal is transmitted to the circuit board 42 which in turn activates the electric motor 43. As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the activated electric motor 43 rotates the gear system 44. Thus, one end of the arm 441 rotates 360-degree in the gear system 44 prior to stopping. In the same time, the link 442 moves up and down in which the upward movement of the link 442 opens the valve 32. Thus, liquid soap in the reservoir 31 flows to the nozzle 33 via the valve 32. Thus, a predetermined amount of liquid soap is discharged to drop on the hand. Finally, the application of liquid soap is stopped when the link 42 moves downward. Also, the electric motor 43 is deactivated as controlled by the circuit board 42. This can save electric energy.

The electric soap dispenser 1 is characterized by employing the law of the lever. In detail, the point of the link 442 joining the valve 32 is taken as a fulcrum. Length of a portion of the arm 441 (i.e., from the fulcrum to the joining point of the arm 441 and the link 442) is taken as one distance (i.e., input) and the length from the joining point of the link 442 and the valve 32 to the other end of the link 442 is taken as the other distance (i.e., output). A small input force at the joining point of the arm 441 and the link 442 can be amplified to provide a greater output force at the other end of the link 442. Thus, the valve 32 can be opened or closed by applying a small force. The small force means less electricity is required to rotate the gear system 44 by activating the electric motor 43 (i.e., saving energy). It has been proved that operating time of the electric soap dispenser 1 of the invention is about four times greater than that of a typical electric soap dispenser when both are subject to the same electric power (i.e., having the same batteries). In short, the electric soap dispenser 1 of the invention can save three quarters of electric energy as compared with the typical electric soap dispenser.

While the invention has been described in terms of preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the invention can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. An electric soap dispenser comprising: a housing; a cover releasably secured to the housing; a reservoir configured to store liquid soap; a valve communicating with the reservoir; a nozzle communicating with the valve; a gear system; an electric motor for driving the gear system; an arm having one end rotatably disposed in the gear system; a link having one end pivotably secured to an other end of the arm and loosely put on the nozzle; an electric control unit for controlling actuation of the electric motor; a trigger sensor for detecting the presence of an object and generating a trigger signal; and a power source electrically connected to both the electric control unit and the electric motor; wherein the electric control unit actuates the electric motor upon receiving the trigger signal from the trigger sensor, the actuated electric motor rotates the gear system, one end of the arm rotates 180-degree to move the link upward to open the valve thereby flowing a predetermined amount of liquid soap from the reservoir to the nozzle via the valve, and one end of the arm rotates further 180-degree to move the link downward to close the valve thereby stopping the flowing and causing the electric control unit to deactivate the electric motor. 